REALISTIC MATHEMATICS EDUCATION: STRATEGI INOVATIF UNTUK MENINGKATKAN PEMAHAMAN KONSEPTUAL DAN MOTIVASI BELAJAR SISWA

Abstrak

Mathematical conceptual understanding and learning motivation are two essential aspects that remain challenging in junior high school mathematics education. This study aims to investigate the effect of the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach on students’ conceptual understanding and learning motivation. This study employed a quantitative approach with an experimental method. The study was conducted at SMP Negeri 4 Kota Cirebon, with cluster random sampling involving class VIII-F as the experimental group and class VIII-D as the control group. The research instruments included a conceptual understanding test, a learning motivation questionnaire and a student response questionnaire on RME. The results showed that the RME approach had a significant effect on improving both conceptual understanding and learning motivation. The average conceptual understanding score in the experimental class increased from 57.91 to 86.78, while in the control class it increased from 52.38 to 74.16. The learning motivation score reached 76.25 in the experimental class and 67.50 in the control class. Statistical tests indicated significant differences in both variables (p < 0.05), with a coefficient of determination of 0.580 for conceptual understanding and 0.423 for learning motivation. This study demonstrates that the RME approach is effective in supporting cognitive and affective aspects in learning.